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“Running Away is one of the best Lifetime films of the years so far.”

Yet another adventure in life: my first novel’s been made into a movie that people are actually watching! The crazy part is I haven’t seen it yet. There was a communication glitch and I thought it was still exclusively in Europe. In fact, I sat with extras on a bus for a couple hours and don’t know if I made it into a cameo shot, either!

Running Away airs again on Mother’s Day (5/14/17) at noon on Lifetime.

Director: Brian Skiba

Writer: Sheri McGuinn

Stars: Holly Deveaux, William McNamara, Paula Trickey

The quote: After watching an earlier showing, Lisa Marie Bowman of Shattered Lens said: “Running Away is one of the best Lifetime films of the years so far.” Read her full 5/7/17 review in Shattered Lens: What Lisa Watched Last Night.

My take as the writer: We had to change a lot to make the novel work as a movie, but the director’s ending is perfect for the film and the book will still hold surprises for someone who’s seen the movie – or vice versa.

I only watched one day of filming. However, it was clear that each person on the crew was absolutely professional and that everyone had the same goal: to make a good film

Which, as I said, isn’t going to be the same as the book. Movies are visual, so the way the story was told had to change. Movie audiences have different expectations than novel readers, so that required changes as well. And movies are a collaborative effort – the initial script is simply a skeleton which is shaped and developed by producers, directors, actors – everyone working on the film.

So if you’ve read the book, watch the movie without expectations and enjoy the suspense.

I have the shooting script so I know the ending, but I’ll still enjoy watching the story unfold.